Description

Over the last half of the twentieth century, television has become the predominant medium through which the public accesses information about the world. Through the news, situation comedies, police dramas, and commercials, we learn about the world around us, and our role within it. These genres, narratives, and cultural forms are not simply entertainment, but powerful socializing agents that show the world as we might never see it in real life. How Television Shapes Our Worldview brings together a diverse set of scholars, methodologies, and theoretical frameworks to interrogate the ways through which television molds our vision of the outside world. The essays include advertising and public relations analyses, audience interviews, and case studies that touch on genres ranging from science fiction in the 1970s to current "reality" television. Television truly provides a powerful influence over how we learn about the world around us and understand its social processes.show more

Review quote

The authors use diverse methodologies, theoretical frameworks, and genres of television to enhance the scholarly application of this book. The editors succeeded in organizing an array of essays on the ways in which television both influences and is influenced by social trends... This book would be a helpful addition to a course on mass media, the history of television, or diversity in the media... The variety of methods and theoretical frameworks used make the book helpful for a class that is exploring ways to approach the study of media and communication. International Journal of Communication Because of its range of texts, themes, and critical approaches, this potpourri of essays enriches television scholarship. The ambitious collection examines commercial considerations, such as advertising and audience reception, and social issues, such as images of good and evil. It is a persuasive analysis of information distribution and predictions about what lies ahead in television, which remains a singularly important conduit for dominant and alternative cultural narratives. -- Jan Whitt, University of Colorado Boulder This book brings together diverse and highly respected scholars to help demonstrate the powerful influence of television, an increasingly fragmented and fractured media in contemporary culture. It explores institutions, audiences, and cultures through multiple methodologies and theoretical frameworks, offering fascinating new insights into how television molds our perceptions of the world and influences our action within it. -- Kathleen German, Miami Universityshow more

About Deborah A. Macey

Deborah A. Macey is visiting assistant professor at Saint Louis University. Kathleen M. Ryan is an associate professor at the University of Colorado, Boulder and an active multimedia director and producer. Noah J. Springer is a PhD student at the University of Colorado, Boulder.show more

Table of contents

1. Introduction Deborah A. Macey, Kathleen M. Ryan and Noah J. Springer Section I: Not Necessarily the News 2. A Bigger Screen for a Narrower View Jack A. Barwind, Philip J. Salem, and Robert D. Gratz 3. Measuring the Messenger: Analyzing Bias in Presidential Election Return Coverage Kahtleen M. Ryan, Lane Clegg, and Joy C. Mapaye 4. Television, Islam, and the Invisible: Narratives on Terrorism and Immigration Tim Karis Section II: Boy (and Girl) Meets World 5. "Your Dreams Were Your Ticket Out:" How Mass Media's Teachers Constructed One Educator's Identity Edward A. Janak 6. Defying Gravity: Fox's Glee Provides a Forum for Queer Teen Representation Katherine J. Lehman 7. Friendship and the Single Girl: What We Learned about Feminism and Friendship from Sitcom Women in the 1960s and 1970s Cindy Conaway and Peggy Tally Section III: America's Most Wanted 8. Epic Failures: Media Framing and the Ethics of Scapegoating in Baseball Chandler Harris and Lauren Lemley 9. Eyewitnesses to TV Versions of Reality: The Relationship between Exposure to TV Crime Dramas and Perceptions of the Criminal Justice System Susan H. Sarapin and Glenn G. Sparks 10. Paramilitary Patriots of the Cold War: Women, Weapons, and Private Warriors in The A-Team and Airwolf Charity Fox Section IV: The More You Know 11. Lisa and Phoebe, Lone Vegetarian Icons: At Odds with Television's Carnonormativity Carrie Packwood Freeman 12. Television and the Environment: More Screen-Less Green Jennifer Ellen Good 13. From Welby to McDreamy: What TV Teaches Us About Doctors, Patients, and the Health Care System Katherine A. Foss Section V: The Voice 14. Made Impossible by Viewers Like You: The Politics and Poetics of Native American Voices in US Public Television Leighton C. Peterson 15. "Real" Black, "Real" Money: African American Audiences on The Real Housewives of Atlanta Gretta Moody 16. He Who has the Gold Makes the Rules: Tyler Perry Presents "The Tyler Perry Way" Danielle E. Williams 17. Viewing 90210 from 12203: Affluent TV Teens Influence a Cohort of Middle Class Women Michelle Napierski-Prancl Section VI: Futurama 18. The Construction of Taste: Television and American Home Decor Styles I. Akira and Larry Ossei-Mensah 19. Bordertown: Manufacturing Mexicanness in Reality Television Ariadne Alejandra Gonzalez 20. Cyborgs in the Newsroom: Databases, Cynicism and Political Irony in The Daily Show Noah J. Springershow more

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